The 'Backwards' Research Guide for Writers - Using your Life for Reflection, Connection, and Inspiration - Sonya Huber
3. Areas of Expertise: Using What You Already Know
The 'Backwards' Research Guide for Writers - Using your Life for Reflection, Connection, and Inspiration - Sonya Huber
Sonya Huber [+]
Fairfield University
Description
This chapter will focus on you as an expert. Even if you haven’t mastered arc-welding, solo mountaineering, or French cooking, you might discover that your low-key and everyday activities contain fascinating questions. Who would care, you ask, that you’re a master hedge-clipper or maybe the queen of the perfect grilled cheese sandwich? For now, let’s set the bar low and assume that if you’ve developed a skill, there’s a reason for it and it means something. As you have developed this skill, you have collected information and experiences that give you a sort of databank to draw on as you examine your life for possible research questions. Assume that your skills have meaning and that they will reveal the seeds of questions to research. All you have to do is to reflect and experiment with framing these skills in a new way.